One Lonely Night (1951) by Mickey Spillane
Paperback, Signet 888
I am taking a stab at a number of books recommended at the blog Vintage Hardboiled Reads. This is a Mike Hammer book that I have had laying around awhile and never read. I'm glad I did.
The book starts with Mike Hammer coming off of a rough court case. The judge lashes out at him for being an inhuman killer and questions what kind of a man he really is. That night as he is walking across a bridge smoking a cigarette a woman comes running out of the mist. And that starts a case that brings Hammer back to life and he accepts the killer inside.
There is some crazy coincidences that get Hammer involved in a sinister Communist ring bent on the destruction of America. Hammer goes undercover:
"Gadlow spoke. The aides spoke. Then the General spoke. He pulled his tux jacket down when he rose and glared at the audience. I had to sit there and listen to it. It was propaganda right off the latest Moscow cable and it turned me inside out. I wanted to feel the butt of an M-1 against my shoulder pointing at those bastards up there on the rostrum and feel the pleasant impact as it spit slugs into their guts"
A really fun but light read.
1 comment:
I read some Hammer when I was a lot younger and I didn't really get his over the top anti-red aggression, but I think I could get into it today. That quote was hilarious
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